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When it comes to heroes who counter tanks, many players immediately think of Diaochan. With her true damage, mobility, healing, and the untargetable state of her second skill, she's almost a perfect counter to slow, bulky tank heroes. That's how she earned her reputation as the tank killer. However, lately many players have noticed that Diaochan seems unable to damage tanks effectively anymore. Her true damage feels like a tickle, and she's completely helpless against massive health pools of over 10,000 HP. So, has her former title as the tank killer become outdated now? Let's talk about it in this episode.

The Tank Killer of the Past

The idea that Diaochan counters tanks has been around for a long time and makes sense. Looking at her skill set, her passive marks trigger true damage after stacking enough layers, and also restore her HP. Her second skill has three dashes that can dodge most key abilities, and her ultimate creates a zone that significantly reduces the cooldowns of her first and second skills. Combined, these mechanics give Diaochan very high playability.

Plus, in the old version, tanks had almost no damage output and were just pure meat shields. Diaochan could use her second skill to dodge attacks, stay within her ultimate to reduce cooldowns, continuously stack her passive to trigger true damage, and kite the tanks back and forth. The tanks couldn't touch her, but she could keep dealing damage, and true damage ignores armor. This mechanical counter relationship made Diaochan the natural enemy of tanks. Back then, she could literally solo several tanks at once, and they had no answer. That's the impression many veteran players have of Diaochan.

Why Can't She Do It Anymore?

First, there's the stat inflation of tanks. Nowadays, tanks have very high HP—10,000 to 20,000 or even more in extreme cases. Without stacking her passive marks, Diaochan's damage is actually quite low, so she can't even scratch a 10,000 HP tank. Second, counter-building from opponents: they usually get at least one magic resistance item, like Magic Resist Cloak (or Magic Mantle? Actually "魔女斗篷" is "Mage's Cloak" or "Witch's Cloak" in English, but let's use "Witch's Cloak"). Additionally, the item "红莲斗篷" (Red Lotus Cloak) was updated to reduce healing, making it harder for Diaochan to deal enough damage or heal enough. Third, if a tank wants to run away, Diaochan can't really chase them down. Many current heroes have crowd control immunity and plenty of mobility. Unless Diaochan pre-stacks multiple flower orbs to completely immobilize the target, it's very difficult to keep them locked down.

Another practical issue: Diaochan is a squishy mage with low base stats. To deal damage up close, she has to take risks. In the past, tanks had no damage, so going close was safe. But now, as long as a tank has normal gold income, they can dish out significant damage—many items add offensive stats. They can easily turn the tables and kill her. That's why more and more players feel Diaochan is no longer effective against tanks.

Finally, we need to distinguish between two concepts: mechanical countering and numerical advantage. Diaochan counters tanks mechanically—tanks have a hard time dealing with her, that's fine. But mechanical countering doesn't mean she can out-damage them numerically. If she can't kill them, she can't kill them. It's like how assassins counter marksmen, but that doesn't mean an assassin can always kill a marksman in a team fight—it still depends on gold and items. The same logic applies. Diaochan is better suited for taking out squishy targets. For dealing with tanks, it's better to pick a hero like Luban No.7.

That's all for today. If you enjoyed it, feel free to give a like to show support. If you have anything to say, ask, or want to see, leave a comment down below—I'll read them all!

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